Pipe Dream's Transpac
Tony Chapman (Neil's Chapman's cousin) is currently sailing the Transpac to Hawaii aboard Pipe Dream, a CF 37, he sends this special report for Boatshed.
Aloha
There was only one boat to the south of us at this morning's roll-call. We got into wind on Tuesday evening and have seen winds in the 13 to 21 knot range ever since and have maintained a speed of 7 to 9 knots. We are sailing with the #3 jib and headed for the warmer seas.
It continues to be 100% overcast so no celestial navigation has been done yet. We were position 3 yesterday in our class, and moved up to Post ion 2 this morning.
It has been interesting dealing with some maintenance issues on the boat which we have resolved. The in-line check valve on the bilge pump became clogged and we were taking on water as a result. We also seem to be using a lot of power at night running the lights and came very close to loosing all our battery power the second night. I think we will be replacing the batteries in Hawaii for the return trip.
I am reminded of how simple our daily routine is compared to land-life regularly. I got a chance to put on clean under-wear this morning (luxury) and can now hold my food down. Everyone is getting their appetite back and no-one has been hailing the boat "Ralphie" from the stern rail for a while now. Most people are complaining of having damp clothes all the time, but this should be less of an issue when we get into warmer weather.
We see a number of birds out here and Team Lani saw a whale in the last hour.
http://www.transpacificyc.org/
Owner: John Davis
Sail number: 47560
Rig: Sloop
LOA (ft.): 37
Draft (ft): 6
Beam (ft): 12
Hull color: White
Yacht Club: Seal Beach
Hailing port: Long Beach , CA USA
Class or type: CF-37
Where built: Long Beach
Year launched: 1974
Rating and Division Assignment:
Transpac Rating (TPR): 257.821
Racing Class or Division: Aloha B
Skipper : John Davis
Navigator: Tony Chapman
Watch Captain: Lou Schweitzer
Crew: Matt Reavis, Scott Smith, Joe Martony